Bladder cancer has one of the highest incidence rates in the world and ranks as the fourth most common tumour in men. Despite its relatively low mortality rate, nearly half of bladder tumours resurface within 5 years, requiring ongoing patient monitoring. Frequent hospital visits and the need for repeat treatments contribute to making this type of cancer one of the most expensive to cure. While current treatments involving direct drug administration into the bladder show good survival rates, their therapeutic efficacy remains low. A promising alternative involves the use of nanoparticles capable of delivering therapeutic agents directly to the tumour. ...

New research has cracked a vital process in the creation of a unique rock type from the Moon. The discovery explains its signature composition and very presence on the lunar surface at all, unravelling a mystery which has long eluded scientists. The study, published today in Nature Geoscience, reveals a key step in the genesis of these distinctive magmas.  A combination of high temperature laboratory experiments using molten rocks, together with sophisticated isotopic analyses of lunar samples, identify a critical reaction that controls their composition. This reaction took place in the deep lunar interior some three and a half ...

Worldwide, an estimated, 40 million people live with HIV. Two-thirds of this group on the African continent. In 2022, more than 600,000 people died from HIV-related causes and more than 1.3 million were infected. There is no vaccine against the world's second most deadly infection, after TB. Thanks to a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Amsterdam UMC's Rogier Sanders leads a project that aims to develop the first effective HIV vaccine.   "We hope to be able ...

Philadelphia, January 15, 2024 – The use of the antipsychotic drugs quetiapine and haloperidol is associated with an increased risk of ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD) caused by drug-induced QT prolongation, reports a new study in Heart Rhythm, the official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society, the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society, and the Pediatric & Congenital Electrophysiology Society, published by Elsevier. Caution is advised to manage cardiac risks in patients prescribed ...

Leveraging neuroimaging data from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) cohort, researchers from A*STAR’s Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS) identified an association between early life adversity and the pace of brain development in childhood. SINGAPORE – A study led by researchers from A*STAR's Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS) has found evidence suggesting that children exposed to elevatec levels of early life adversity (ELA) exhibit an accelerated pattern of brain development during the preschool years. When exposed to ELA, such as a mother's mental and ...

A team of researchers has developed a new scoring system for a nationwide scheme, overseen by the Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards (ACCIA), to recognise and reward senior doctors and dentists in England and Wales. There has been a scheme in place since 1948 to reward senior clinicians who make an outstanding contribution to supporting the delivery of NHS goals. The awards have been known, through various iterations, as merit awards, clinical excellence awards, and, most recently, clinical impact awards. Published ...

Only a small percentage of older Americans have jumped on the rising trend of getting health care services and prescriptions directly from an online-only company, rather than seeing their usual health care providers in person or via telehealth, a new poll finds. But that could change rapidly, the University of Michigan survey suggests. In all, 7.5% of people between the ages of 50 and 80 have used at least one direct-to-consumer health care service from an online-only provider, according to the new findings from the National Poll on Healthy Aging. Of those who did ...

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have studied pancreatic islet cell loss in people with no previous pancreatic problems. They identified key trends in the types of cells lost due to islet cell loss in different age groups and sexes, finding that ICL in the elderly population was largely due to insulin-producing beta cell loss. This may be the cause of age-related diabetes and help inform new preventative treatments.   The pancreas is an incredibly important part of the human digestive system, particularly for regulating blood sugar levels by secreting the hormone insulin. ...

In women living with HIV, preventive treatment with DHA-PPQ is a safe and effective strategy to prevent malaria during pregnancy, according to the final results of MAMAH, a clinical trial funded by the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) and coordinated by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by “la Caixa” Foundation. The study, published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases, could help protect the health of the estimated one million pregnant women who suffer from a double infection with malaria ...

Innovation may be what drives progress in the arts, business, sciences and technology, but the novel ideas that drive innovation often face headwinds that hinder or even prevent their adoption. Why did some good ideas, such as hand sanitizing in 19th-century hospitals or racial integration in the 20th century, take years to win widespread embrace? University of Utah postdoctoral researcher Wayne Johnson set out to identify the hurdles. His research team’s program of five studies, which featured analyses of evaluations of films screened at Utah’s Sundance Film ...

Insects and spiders often receive little attention from people, except when we’re swatting them away. However, as arthropods — creatures distinguished by a hard exoskeleton and jointed legs— they play an essential role in sustaining the ecosystems humans rely on. Remarkably, arthropods make up approximately 84% of all known animal species. A study published recently in Scientific Reports reveals how human activity affects biodiversity among arthropods and how nonbiological factors, such as daily temperature swings and proximity to the ocean, affect arthropod biodiversity in urban areas. The research uncovered a few ...

Researchers in the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) have found that an FDA-approved drug may help to decrease pain after surgery. In the pilot study published in Pain Management, spinal surgery patients who received N-acetylcysteine (NAC) during surgery in addition to standard pain control treatments reported lower pain scores and requested fewer opioids after surgery than patients given a placebo. Opioids are often given for a short time after ...

(Memphis, Tenn – January 12th, 2024) The protein HOXA9 is overexpressed in most acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cases and is associated with poor patient outcomes. However, HOXA9 is a difficult protein to target therapeutically, so researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital looked for ways to extinguish it indirectly. Using CRISPR/Cas9 screening, the researchers identified RBM5, demonstrating a causative link between RBM5 expression and leukemia cell proliferation. This link is driven by a novel dual function of RBM5 as both a DNA and RNA handler ...

A new study led by researchers at the University of Chicago found that changes in male gender expression from adolescence to young adulthood align closely with the gender norms present in individuals’ school environments, and that these trajectories are associated with subsequent patterns of substance abuse. Amidst a growing consensus among social science researchers that separates gender from biological sex, gender has come to be defined as a constellation of expected behaviors, attributes, preferences and beliefs typically associated with a specific gender identity. Prior research shows that traditional models of male gender identity, constructed over time through sociocultural ...

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 12, 2024) — Larry Goldstein, M.D., chair of the University of Kentucky Department of Neurology, has been selected to serve as co-chair of The Kentucky Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (KHDSP) Task Force representing stroke systems of care across the state.  Goldstein is co-director of the Kentucky Neuroscience Institute, co-director of the UK Neuroscience Research Priority Area, contact PI for the state’s CDC Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program grant, and interim director of the UK-Norton Healthcare Stroke Care Network. Additionally, he also sits on ...

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 12, 2024) — The University of Kentucky will mark a decade of raising awareness and continuing its effort to warn women about the dangers of heart disease with the annual Healthy Hearts for Women Symposium. Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of women, causing 1 in 3 deaths each year, according to the American Heart Association. Yet, only 44% of women recognize that cardiovascular disease is their greatest health threat. “We see the evidence of this devastating statistic right here in Kentucky. The Commonwealth has the highest rates of deaths due to cardiovascular disease in women ...

Changes to DNA, known as mutations, can increase the likelihood of developing cancer. Specifically, people with mutations in their BRCA 1 and 2 genes are substantially more likely to develop hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. But how do people know if they have these mutations? Genetic testing. Genetic testing allows doctors to see these microscopic changes. Knowing these mutations exist, doctors will check for signs of breast and ovarian cancers more often. Yet minorities, especially Black women, are less likely to participate in genetic testing. ...

University of Waterloo researchers are tapping into idled electric vehicles to act as mobile generators and help power overworked and aging electricity grids. After analyzing energy demand on Alberta’s power grid during rush hour, the research proposes an innovative way to replenish electrical grids with power generated from fuel cells in trucks. “Canada’s power grids need to be upgraded,” said Dr. XiaoYu Wu, lead researcher and a professor in Waterloo’s Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering.  “But the price ...

“Pazopanib is a multi-kinase inhibitor that is currently approved for treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma and chemotherapy-refractory soft tissue sarcoma.” BUFFALO, NY- January 12, 2024 – A new case report was published in Oncoscience (Volume 10) on September 20, 2023, entitled, “Activity of pazopanib in EWSR1-NFATC2 translocation-associated bone sarcoma.” Pazopanib, a multi-kinase VEGF inhibitor, is currently FDA approved for advanced renal cell carcinoma and advanced soft tissue sarcoma; but limited evidence exists on its efficacy in bone sarcomas. In this case report, researchers Mohamed A. Gouda, ...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A groundbreaking 3D, three-layer nanomatrix vascular sheet that possesses multiple features of atherosclerosis has been applied for developing a high-throughput functional assay of drug candidates to treat this disease, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers report in the journal Biomaterials. “Current in vitro atherosclerosis models have significant limitations, including the lack of three-layer vascular architecture and limited atherosclerotic features,” said Ho-Wook Jun, Ph.D., a professor ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Size does not matter. Certainly not when it comes to tiny worms securing the attention of biologists. One such biologist, Morris F. Maduro at the University of California, Riverside, has just been awarded a grant of nearly $1.3 million from the National Science Foundation, or NSF, to study a worm (or nematode) about a millimeter in length. The research project will focus on the gut of Pristionchus pacificus. Like most nematodes, P. pacificus develops quickly, its growth from embryo to adult taking just four days. It is a complete ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — By one estimate, as many as 30% of people in the U.S. are in romantic relationships with partners who do not share their political views. In today’s hyperpartisan climate, where Democrats and Republicans have difficulty talking to each other and their views are polarized about media outlets’ credibility, how do couples with differing political perspectives decide which media to follow? And how do these decisions affect their discussions on political issues and their relationship ...

MADISON — A team of astronomers have discovered a planet closer and younger than any other Earth-sized world yet identified. It’s a remarkably hot world whose proximity to our own planet and to a star like our sun mark it as a unique opportunity to study how planets evolve. The new planet was described in a new study published this week by The Astronomical Journal. Melinda Soares-Furtado, a NASA Hubble Fellow at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who will begin work as an astronomy professor at the university in the fall, and recent UW–Madison graduate Benjamin Capistrant, now a graduate student at the University of Florida, co-led the study with co-authors from ...

Earth’s average surface temperature in 2023 was the warmest on record, according to an analysis by NASA. Global temperatures last year were around 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit (1.2 degrees Celsius) above the average for NASA’s baseline period (1951-1980), scientists from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York reported. “NASA and NOAA’s global temperature report confirms what billions of people around the world experienced last year; we are facing a climate ...

If you are one of the 30% to 50% of women experiencing urinary incontinence, new research suggests that it could turn into a bigger health issue. Having more frequent urinary incontinence and leakage amounts is associated with higher odds of disability, according to RUSH researchers in a study published in the January issue of Menopause. “Often symptoms from urinary incontinence are ignored until they become bothersome or limit physical or social activities,” said Sheila Dugan, MD, chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at RUSH. “Because this study suggests that urinary incontinence is associated with disability, ...